THE DEPARTMENT of Education says St Michael’s House Special School in Dublin has “refused” to enrol additional children with disabilities.
A spokesman for the department said a meeting with management of the school in Rathgar would take place at the end of the month to discuss the issue. “The Department of Education and National Council for Special Education (NCSE) are disappointed that St Michael’s House has refused to enrol additional children with disabilities,” he said.
The spokesman insisted there were sufficient resources in the school to allow for additional pupils to be enrolled.
A spokesman for St Michael’s said a response could not be provided yesterday.
Meanwhile, a man and his special needs daughter, who gained access to the Green Party convention at the RDS recently, protested at the gates of Leinster House yesterday. James McDonagh, from Dún Laoghaire, said he had tried to enrol 11-year-old Angel in St Michael’s.
“They told me two staff were taken away over the summer. They’re short-staffed. They would only consider Angel’s application once the two staff were reinstated,” Mr McDonagh said.
He said his daughter had not attended school for a year.
“No school in the Dún Laoghaire or Dublin area will accept her because of Government cutbacks and because of lack of resources. It’s having a major, major impact on the family,” he said.
Describing his daughter’s condition, Mr McDonagh said: “She has closed spina bifida, she has global developmental delay. Even at 11 years old, she can’t wash herself. I have to do that for her. She can’t brush her teeth, she can’t dress herself.”
People Before Profit Alliance councillor Richard Boyd Barrett also attended the protest.
According to the department spokesman, the school which caters for pupils with learning disabilities and autism, has 69 pupils enrolled.
He said the school currently has 15 teacher posts and 26 special needs assistant posts, giving a ratio of 4.6 pupils for every teacher and an overall pupil/adult ratio of 1.7 pupils for every adult.
“This level of staffing is significantly greater than the normal pupil/teacher ratios which apply to special schools,” he said.
The spokesman said a review of staffing resources had established there were “a number of surplus teacher posts in the school”.
He said the school had 17 teacher posts at the time and the school was not permitted to replace retiring staff at the end of the last school year.
St Michael’s House provides services to over 1,500 people with disabilities in 160 locations in the greater Dublin area and employs 1,700 staff, according to its website.
